Last Updated on June 29, 2021 by Fiona Maclean
Asian Food cooked with Passion and Served with Purpose.
Sticky Mango restaurant, despite being almost on my doorstep near Waterloo station, is not somewhere I’ve visited before. I’ve heard of it, but for whatever reason, it wasn’t until we were invited to try the special tribute menu that had been created to coincide with the death of Anthony Bourdain, a fundraising event for the #BurntChef project. Priced at £49.50, with a donation of £5 to the Burnt Chef project which aims to help those working in the hospitality industry who are experiencing periods of poor mental health. It’s a fitting tribute to Bourdain, one of the best-loved chefs in the world, who took his own life while in France filming his next TV show.
It’s obvious that Chef Peter Lloyd, the owner of Sticky Mango, was inspired by Bourdain. The front of the restaurant showcases a stunning mural of Bourdain by street artist Jerome Davenport. And, the carefully planned menu had moments from many of Bourdain’s travels around Asia.
We started by ordering a bottle of Vouvray Brut Domaine Champalou and enjoyed a glass with a small appetiser. The first two dishes arrived together and looked so pretty that I forgot I was supposed to be taking pictures!
Thai green papaya salad is the sort of dish I order when I’m in a Thai restaurant and this was particularly delicious (and beautifully plated, before I ‘deconstructed’ it – take my word for it). Each of the dishes came with Anthony Bourdain’s comment – about this he said
Usually salad for me is rabbit food, this is the best salad I’ve had in memory. I don’t eat a lot of salads but this is pretty darn good’
With the salad came Bon Cha – a noodle broth with Pork balls that originates in Vietnam. It’s a dish that Bourdain enjoyed with President Barak Obama and that originates from Hanoi. It arrived with Nuoc Mam, Vietnamese fish sauce. Delicious and piquant, but again ‘deconstructed’ before I managed to take a photo!
Our next dish arrived with Peter Lloyd himself.
Nose to tail probably did need some explanation. There was a delicious pork tail each, crunchy with crackling but with the sweetest meat hiding beneath the fat. Then, a pork sausage with Asian spices. Finally, neatly wrapped in a banana leaf the dish that both of us were somehow scared of eating – BBQ pork brain. I did try, but honestly didn’t particularly like the soft mixture.
Char Kwei Teow, a dish of rice noodles, cockles and duck egg from Penang in Malaysia was one of my personal favourites. I’d happily try to recreate this one but I’m sure I’d never quite get that balance of flavours.
I’ve eaten Chili Crab in Singapore – it’s a famous dish. Crab Bee Hoon is another Singaporean dish of which Bourdain said
This is the single best dish I’ve ever had. If there’s nothing better than this, I’d be pretty happy with that
We sucked every morsel of crab meat from the dish. It was such perfect comfort eating.
Beef rendang, our last savoury dish was rich and nutty with toasted coconut. It’s a dish I have been meaning to try at home and now I’m feeling quite inspired.
To finish the meal, what else but mango sticky rice, a bowl of rice that has been sweetened with condensed milk. It’s a dish I used to enjoy as a child in Malaysia – perfect nursery food with a touch of the exotic.
We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at Sticky Mango and will be back for more. It’s well located, around the back of the South Bank theatres and concert halls and very well priced. And, it’s somewhere with an excellent wine list. To find out more about the heritage of the restaurant and the regular menu, do check out our earlier review of Sticky Mango.
Sticky Mango
33 Coin Street,
London, SE1 9NR
0207 928 455
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